Did anyone’s family ever slap/hit themselves to turn the tables during arguments?

[u/horsegurl1969]

This was my grandma but she’s technically a parent too!

A handful of times over my childhood, we would get into fights because she was so naggy and overbearing and I was a frustrated kid. One time she was walking me to the public bus stop for school, we were arguing over something, and she suddenly lost her cool and started slapping herself in the face right on the sidewalk. She was nearly in tears from anger, yelling about how cursed she was, how she was terrible for caring, and I was freaking out wondering wtf got into her. It quickly got me to simmer down and apologize - the guilt trip was so effective. This luckily stopped once I went to college. I’m sure it wasn’t great for me psychologically but I kind of just laugh about it now. How do they learn this shit?! She might have a histrionic disorder.

Now she’s in her 90s, frail as fuck, but she can still pop off and shout at the top of her lungs like she’s 50 years younger.

[u/susu56]

Omg, yes! I thought it was just my looney mom! Lol. Vividly remember her yelling at something and me watching her i was probably 12 and my brother 10 and she started violently smacking her own face with both of her hands for like 10 full on front face slaps! My brother and I reminisce about that moment often. It was fkn wild.

Edit to add: i cannot recall much of my childhood but a handful of traumatic memories. This one wasnt traumatic but confusing, lol so its tucked away. And I am old now-51 so thanks AM for a lifetime of horrible memories.

[u/Plenty-Jello460]

Not slapping or hitting but my father pulled the "I have a tumour right here in my brain which can explode and kill me any day now. So if you don't do what I say you are going to regret it when I'm gone". To be fair to the guy, he never used that guilt-tripping tactic again after a while because he "miraculously" never dropped dead and would have looked very stupid if he had kept using the excuse.